Concerned college student continues the conversation around Schofield's band classroom

Recent speculation about plans to relocate Schofield Middle School’s band classroom to a non-specialized room led to a discussion at the Aiken County Board of Education meeting in June.

At the board's July 16 meeting, this conversation was continued by Mason Collins, a senior music education major at the University of South Carolina. He was a member of Schofield’s band program from 2014-2017.

Citing the potential negative impact on students' music education, Collins urged the school board to reconsider making this change to the middle school. He also noted that Schofield’s principal allegedly said this project would cost “around tens of thousands of dollars” in taxpayer money.

“The band room is a sanctuary for those who utilize it, and forcing its students into a space not meant for music would be as foolish as asking the football team to practice in a modified math classroom," Collins said. "While you may be able to make it work for a little while, a severe disservice will be done to the students forced into the situation.”

The speaker brought up the safety concerns which were highlighted by a district statement addressing this potential change.

According to the statement, the current band classroom is located at the end of an otherwise unoccupied hallway, and the vacated spaces have become an area where students are “frequently engaging in behaviors or activities that violate the Code of Conduct.”

Collins asked the board to consider an alternative solution to this issue.

“Why must the arts programs and students suffer in this decision?” he asked.

New Aiken County Superintendent Corey Murphy said after the meeting that no changes to the current band room have been made and that the district is only investigating the issue and trying to determine a solution.

“The only way we would move the students from the band room is into a band room," Murphy said. "We would not move them into something that’s not a band room. So, if we can’t create a band room in a cost effective manner, we won’t make any moves.”